8 Absurdly Pricey Auto Paint Jobs

Black, gray, white, blue. Most people buy cars in conservative colors, and for good reason. For most of us, a car is a long-term investment, and when you do sell, nobody wants to buy your lime-green Impala. But, for high rollers who value standing out above resale value, luxury carmakers are ready to paint their rides (almost) any color they like.

Cadillac Black Diamond Edition Tri-Coat

Cadillac Black Diamond Edition Tri-Coat

To make its flagship, the CTS-V, sparkle, Cadillac turned to independent optics supplier JDSU. The Black Diamond tri-coat sandwiches a layer of SpectraFlair pigment between a metallic black base coat and a top clear coat. Aluminum flakes encased in magnesium fluoride in the SpectraFlair diffract light the way a diamond does, creating a deep rainbow-like prism effect under bright light. Even when sitting on matte black rims and dressed in all black leather, the CTS-V will surely catch your eye.

At $995, the Cadillac CTS-V Black Diamond Edition's tri-coat is the cheapest paint job on this list. In fact, it's cheaper than the car's $3400 Recaro seats and $1300 gas-guzzler tax penalty, so we're talking about a thousand-dollar bargain.

Porsche Custom

Porsche Custom

Porsche already has special color combinations for select editions such as the Boxster and 911 Black Editions. But if you're really looking to stand out, pay the automaker a few grand more and it will let you go your own way.
For $5500, Porsche will paint any of its cars, excluding the Cayenne SUV, in any color you desire. Throw in some more cash and it'll match the leather, stitching, and even the floor-mat piping. (So, you could order a purple Targa, though we highly recommend against it.) Just don't try to push Porsche too far—it's willing to stomach only so much of your bad taste. The brand will put purple wheels only on a purple car, for instance. Anything tackier than that and you'll have to call an independent specialist.

It takes the obsessive-compulsive Porsche painters three months to complete each custom job. That time lag probably explains why only about 70 Porsche 911 models—and an even fewer number of Boxsters and Caymans—are custom-painted each year. Plus, the 911 just looks so sweet in classic silver.